Process for pickling olives.



in water.

cation of the lye, and the bleaching operates emplo "UNITED sures PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM V. CRUESS, OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, DEDICATED, BY MESNE ASSIGN-' MENTS, TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.

rnocnss ron rrcxmne omvns.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 26, 1918- 1,257,584. Io Drawing. Application filed November 5, 1917. Serial No. 200,4

nnmcarrn 'ro THE minus.

I To all whom it my concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM V. Gnonss,

a citizen of the United States, residing in.

the city of Berkeley, county of Alameda, State of California, gwhose post-office address is Berkeley, Cali ornia,) have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Processesfo'r Pickling Olives.

This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, chapter 1&3 (22 Stat, 625), and the invention herein described and .claimed may be used by the Government of the United States or any of its officers or ees in the prosecution of work for the overnment, or any person in the United States, without payment to me of anya royalty thereon.

y invention relates to processes for p1ckling olives. Heretofore, olives have been treated in the process of pickling with one or more dilute solutions of potash or other 1 e, the purpose of such treatment being to destroy and facilitate the extraction of the bitter elements-from the olives. After the treatment the lye and bitter elements are extracted by repeated soakings of the olives The olives are then placed in one or more salt brines and finally canned. As a result of this treatment, the olives becomebleached more or less, due to the applito make the olives uneven and too light in color. To counteract this effect upon the olives by the treatment described, the olives are exposed one or more times to the air, either during or subsequent to immersion in the lye solution. Exposing the olives in this way: to the action of the air tends to darken and equalize the color defects of the fruit. The bleaching of the olives is an objectionable feature of the known process for canning the fruit. Aside from this, such process possesses the following disadvantages:

l. The time consumed from the beginning of the application of the lye treatment to the olives to the completion of canning is three to six *weeks, or longer. W, The pickling vats and other parts of the equipment of thepickling factory can be used only twice, as a general rule, inone season. This limits the capacity of the factory.

3. A great deal of hand labor is necessary inturnmg and stirring the olives during exposure to air to darkenthein. This labor is costly.

4. This stirring results in a great deal of bruising of the olives.

5. Because of the great length of time necessary by the usual method, the olives are exposed to decomposition by bacteria.

very appreciable amount-of olives is lost in this way.

' 6. The color of olives colored by exposure I to air is not uniform" because the points at which the olives are" in contactwith .each' other are not exposed to the air. asmu'ch asare employed the weight of the olives-during exposure to the air will crush and bruise the olives in the bottom of the vats.

8. Some olivesrequire an excessively long exposure to-the air, This long exposure results in injury to the texture and quality of the fruit.

The object will obviate the disadvantages of present processes, as hereinbefo-re particularized.

of my invention is to provide a slmple process easy of application, which To accomplish this end, I treat the olives I with one or more solutions of potash or other lye substance; this lye solution. being heated before addition tothe olives or durin the treatment of the olives with the lye solu ion,

or the lye solution is added as in present" methods Without heating. Y Y a After the lye treatment, the olives are subjected to treatment with running water or liquid which is made-or allowed to flow over and between the olives, with or without aeration of the water or liquid. Or the olives are sub ected to treatment with water which is 7 not caused to circulate or flow. The water is heated before or while it flows over and between theolives. Aeration of the water or liquid during this treatment is not an -essential part of the process and is not necestomei the picking tank 'it back over and between olives; or v able picklingtanks or vats; or the ,water or iquid may be heated in 'sary to its successful application. The novel features of my process is the heating of the water and other liquids used in the pickling process or the heating of the olives themselves. y

. Circulation of the'water. or other liquid used in treating the olives may be accomplished by drawing the liquid from the botor container an pumpin water rom a tank or reservoi source of supply may or other be allowed to run over i and between the olives and out of the vat to a be'lieate'd in the pipes used to deliver the 1 liquid to the picking tanks or vats; or it may be passed through and heated in any suit- I form of heating apparatlis placed between the supply tank or reservoir and the other the pickling vats or tanks themselves.

The circulation or flowing of the water, or other liquid over and between the olives may be omitted. Thewater or other liquid may be. simply allowed to stand without circulation or flowingon the olives in the pickq the air to rocess may be sary for curing ling vats or tanks. It is ke t heated in-the vats or tanks or is heatedbe to the pickling vats or tanks.

other'hquid may be changed The water or often to facilitate removal of the,lyeffrom the olives and darkening of the'color.

My recess may be applied in the. method of pic lin lives where they are expose to arken them. In this case, the lye, the' water and brine are heated or only one or twoof these liquids may be heated as desired.

The advantages obtained in practising my briefly summarized as to ows:'

1. It avoids. exposure of the olives to the air to darken them.

2. It-decreases the amount of labor necessary in handling the fruit.

' 3. It diminishes the length of time necesor pickling the olives.

ore being added ing minute particles of air in susp Where heated flowing water is used as described in my process for pickling olives after the lye treatment, it is possible to complete the picklin operation in three to; six days as compare with three to six weeks in the present methods.

4. The output of the factory can therefore be greatly increased because the pickling vats can be used several times during the season.

5. The color of the olives cured or pickled by my process is uniform and is localized near the surface.

6. There is no danger of loss of olives by bacterial decomposition, because the time necessary for my process is so short that this decomposition can not take place. 1

7 It enables large picklin vats to be used in the pickling or curing 0 olives.

8. It results in olives of: uniformly good quality and color and elinfinates to a very large degree the element of chance now so prominent in present methods of pickling olives.

Having thus claim:

1. The process for pickling or curing olives, consisting in heatin the lye solution, the water, and other liqui s used in treating the olives subsequent to the l e treatment.

2. The process for picking or curing olives, consisting in heating the water and other liquids used intreating the olives, and causingthe' water and other liquids to flow over and between the olives.

3. The process for pickling or curing olives'consisting in heating and aerating water and other liquids used in treatin olives and passing the liquids over an tween the olives.

described my invention, 1

the be- 4. The process of pickling 'olives which heating the liquids in which the I consists in olives are treated and in aerating said liquids with compressed air. q

5. The process for pickling or curing olives which consists in subjecting the olives to a lye bath, and subsequently subjecting the olives in a tankto a heated liquid carryension, continuously withdrawing the liqu d from the bottom of the'tank, continuously adding air to said withdrawn heated liquid and intimately mixing said air and heated liquid and causing the mixture to flow back into" the tank continuously.

6. The process for pickling or curingolives in which the olives are exposure to airafter lyetreatment.

.The process olives in which the water used in treating the olives is heated and withdrawn and replaced by fresh water frequently but not continuously. p a

8. The process for pickling or curing the' heated during.

for pickling or curing mums;

olives in which the fia'iter used in treating the olives is heated, Withdrawn, and replace with other heated aerated Water.

9. The process of pickling or curing olives.

in Which the Water used in treating the olives is heated and Withdrawn frequently, aerated. and returned to the olives. I

10. The process of pickling 0r curing olives which consists in subjecting the olives during the pickling of curing process in, 1v heated and moving liquids carrylng oxygen in solution.

In Witness whereof, I affix my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' WILLIAM V. CRUESS. W'itnesses DAIsYL. BUNNELL, CATHERINE W. CHAoE. 

